Meet the Artists of Artsy's June Pride Auction - Artsy

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Art Market

Artsy Editorial

Jun 15, 2023 6:48PM

The newest Artsy Impact Auction “Artists for Pride, Benefiting the Ali Forney Center” features a stunning selection of works directly from the studios of 15 leading and emerging artists: TM Davy, Didier William, Jo Messer, Kyle Meyer, Kate Pincus-Whitney, Erin M. Riley, Emma Kohlmann, Caitlin Cherry, Elizabeth Glaessner, Jordan Nassar, The Haas Brothers, Vickie Vainionpää, Leilah Babirye, Darryl Westly, and Nedia Were.

The auction, in partnership with the Ali Forney Center, supports the nonprofit’s mission of protecting and empowering LGBTQIA+ youth. A portion of the proceeds from the sale will directly support the critical care, education, and career services that the Ali Forney Center provides.

Ahead of the auction—which opens for bidding on June 22nd and will begin to close on June 29th at 12 p.m. EDT—we’ve connected with several of the participating artists to learn about the works they’ve contributed, and their motivations for supporting this vital cause during Pride month.

B. 1980, New York. Lives and works in New York.

Portrait of TM Davy, 2023. Courtesy of the artist.

“I made this pastel on Fire Island, a meditation of the setting sun reflecting and refracting in sparkles and spectrums across a pool of water,” explained TM Davy. “I am fortunate to know a queer paradise where even the sun is a dance and a disco ball.

“I’m glad to have this opportunity to share this feeling in support of the Ali Forney Center,” Davy added. “All LGBTQ+ youth deserve safety, warmth, and love for who they are, and that’s the golden hour I’m working in.”

B. 1985, New York. Lives and works in New York.

Portrait of Jordan Nassar by Christian Michael Filardo. Courtesy of Jordan Nassar.

“Dark Sky (2022) is a study for a larger body of work, experimenting with formal painterly elements and scale to execute depictions of landscapes,” Jordan Nassar explained of this work. “Traditional Palestinian embroidery patterns create the surface of the work, while color creates the landscape. The playful pink hues of the mountains are met with a deep, dark sky bringing classic painting themes of dark and light, foreground and background, and color and shape to mind, all while exploring the complexities of identity and culture.

“The work they do at the Ali Forney Center is so vital for our queer community,” he continued. “I am just grateful that my work gives me the opportunity to support their work protecting and empowering young queer lives.”

B. 1988, Ashland, Ohio. Lives and works in New York.

Portrait of Kyle Meyer with Stepping Out, 2022. Courtesy of the artist.

Unidentified 91a (2023) comes from Kyle Meyer’s ongoing series “Interwoven,” which “documents homosexuality in the hyper-masculine culture within Eswatini,” the artist explained. “Given that homosexuality is illegal in that country, gay men constantly have to hide their sexuality and suppress their true identity.

“After befriending several gay men, who confided in me their personal stories of struggle, I asked them to choose a piece of local fabric typically worn by women with which I made unique wraps on each of them. It would be taboo for men to wear these head-wraps in public, as that would indicate homosexual tendencies. I then hand weave that fabric through the printed portrait. Each man’s gaze is directly on the viewer as if demanding attention to their true identity while still being hidden behind the fabric, which is a metaphor for their culture suppression.

“The Ali Forney Center is extremely important to helping our younger struggling community that is often overlooked,” Meyer added. “Their hard work to help these individuals get housing, food, and education is vital. I was elated to donate this artwork to help support their mission.”

B. 1993, Santa Monica, California. Lives and works in Los Angeles.

Portrait of Kate Pincus-Whitney with Ritual Union, The Huntress: Testa Di Moro (Cefalu Sicily) and \Ritual Union, The Huntress: Rites of Spring (Persephone’s Garden). Photo by Merrick Adams. Courtesy of Kate Pincus-Whitney.

“Through reimagining the radical storytelling power of food, I paint the theater of the dinner table,” Kate Pincus-Whitney said of her practice. “Synthesizing contemporary life and mythology, I map culture, place, and self through the objects we consume; viewing the tablescape as a stage and commons.…Dyslexic and stereo-blind, I act as an artist-anthropologist armed with a visual vocabulary. I am interested in the dramas of the heart, the head, and the stomach and the ways in which those all connect.”

This work, Pincus-Whitney explained, is inspired by Suzanne Rodriguez’s Found Meals of the Lost Generation: Recipes and Anecdotes from 1920s Paris (1994); Gertrude Stein’s Tender Buttons (1914); and The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book (1954). “Dripping in homage and cream sauce, Stein and Toklas’s Mussel in Cream is my cheeky and loving dive into the portrait of two creative powerhouses; their relationship, their love, their devotion to food, and their appetites for the world around them,” she said of this featured work. “This piece celebrates the inroads they made together that would change history, not only artistically speaking but socially and culturally.…This piece for me feels deeply connected to this amazing auction.

“I know the importance of having a safe space and community and the Ali Forney Center is just that,” she added. “Inclusion, love, and fighting for a better future together—these are pillars of my artistic practice. I truly believe as artists we have the potential to be a part of the change we want to see in the world. I am so honored to be donating Stein and Toklas’s Mussels in Cream to such an incredible cause.”

B. 1985, Kampala, Uganda. Lives and works in New York.

Portrait of Leilah Babiyre. Photo by Ana Mina (An Xiao). Courtesy of Leilah Babiyre.

“Lady Nabuuso is a name that comes from the word ‘buuso,’ which refers to having small or petite eyes,” Leilah Babirye wrote of this featured work. “I selected this work because the name evokes a vision of queer Buganda clans that become chosen families.

“As a queer activist and supporter of LGBTQIA+ rights, I feel that this Pride auction is important for supporting the queer community.”

B. 1984, Palo Alto, California. Lives and works in New York.

Portrait of Elizabeth Glaessner. Photo by Guillame Zicarelli. Courtesy of Elizabeth Glaessner.

“The crawling figure is a recurring pose which draws on William Blake’s Nebuchadnezzar, Cranach the Elder’s Cannibal and Phyllis and Aristotle, and many other subsequent interpretations of the figure on all fours,” Elizabeth Glaessner explained. “It’s a pose which rouses complex feelings—the experience of oppression or subjugation, a display of deference and submission, but also liberation, transformation, and metamorphosis.

“Supporting the Ali Forney Center right now is crucial so that they can continue to provide critical services including emergency and transitional housing for vulnerable LGBTQ+ youth who are disproportionately affected by homelessness.”

B. 1989, New York. Lives and works in Florence, Massachusetts.

Portrait of Emma Kohlmann by Annabell Penelope Lee, 2022. Courtesy of Emma Kohlmann.

“There is a circular movement that resonates in Life cycle of mythical creature (2023),” explained Emma Kohlmann. “It is a part of a series of paintings that I have been working on the last couple months. This work is about the life cycle of being turned into a bat. It’s a tale of metamorphosis and shape shifting.

“Parts of this work are from a dream I had about turning into another person. This series has been less focused on a central image, and more about creating a mood or ambiance. I have been experimenting a lot with mixing colors and incorporating a new palette. This work has bold and muddy colors. I see it as a way of defining a dream, just like how certain things pop out when recalling a memory.”

On supporting this cause, Kohlmann noted, “Having a home and stability is something that should be afforded to everyone. The Ali Forney Center provides services to LGBTQ youth who are in the most dire of circumstances. I was born in New York and grew up there. Donating my painting for auction is just a small increment of service that can be done. The state of nourishing meals, safe spaces, and places for good night sleep for those in need is drastically low. It is extremely important to me to support organizations like this, especially in such a turbulent and divisive political landscape. Being able to dream beyond what is available to you is a triumph, supporting organizations that let LGBTQ youth do that is what makes me believe in the future.”

B. 1985, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Lives and works in New York.

Portrait of Erin M. Riley. Courtesy of the artist.

“Sassy Swirl was woven in 2017, during a time when I was thinking about the objects of sexuality and imagery of my sexuality as well as how intimate partner violence and stalking was impacting my ability to access said sexuality,” Erin M. Riley said of this featured work. “Weaving still lifes of the objects that one uses in the bedroom, both alone and with others, I was trying to depict the desire and attraction that is often not seen as mainstream. The image is taken from a webcam interaction, from the safety of one’s home, laptop taken to the bed though imitating the cis male, often unsolicited, ‘dick pic.’

“Being able to use my artwork to support the Ali Forney Center to continue providing support to the youth who so desperately need it, especially at this time, is my honor and privilege,” Riley added.

B. 1989, Chicago. Lives and works in New York.

Portrait of Darryl Westly. Courtesy of the artist.

“A garderobe is a lavatory—literally defined as a guard robe—or place to guard one’s clothings and belongings,” Darryl Westly explained, nodding to the subject matter of this work. “As we have been constantly reminded at once through the news, and time and time again through new legislation and discourse, a restroom is both a public and private space, offering respite and relief and protection, but only to those who have been given access.

“As an artist, my life would be unimaginable without the access to the incredible communities of people, art and ideas that institutions such as Ali Forney Center bring together across generations,” Westly continued. “Personally, I find one of the great gifts of being a New Yorker is investing in these organizations both through giving and the use of my time; as sites dedicated to the creative and intellectual enrichment of the public, they are doubly tasked with reflecting the ethos and hopes of the public as well.”

B. 1992, Toronto. Lives and works in Montreal.

Portrait of Vickie Vainionpää by Emelle Massariol. Courtesy of Vickie Vainionpää.

“The work I chose to contribute to this auction is part of my ongoing ‘Soft Body Dynamics’ series, in which I use generative bezier curves to create oil on canvas paintings,” Vickie Vainionpää explained. “The script that I use produces unique curvilinear forms each time it runs; it’s almost as if the computer is drawing or scribbling on its own. I love to play with color in my paintings, often sourcing palettes from other historical works of art. I had used this luminescent rainbow effect once before, for a work at NADA Miami last year, and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to bring it back, in celebration of Pride month.

“Resources like the Ali Forney Center are so important for at-risk LGBTQ+ youth and I’m really proud to be directly supporting their mission with this auction,” Vainionpää continued. “I think it’s important for artists to participate in causes that are near to them, as a way to raise awareness but most importantly raise funds so that these organizations can make real differences in people’s lives.

“On Pride more generally—self-empowerment, acceptance, and unconditional respect for others are all reasons to celebrate Pride all year round!”